Covid-19 vaccinations ushered in a year of travel rebounds and burgeoning growth in the number of stays at short-term rentals in 2021.
With the industry’s unparalleled boom, came regulatory disputes on how to best manage the growth in certain jurisdictions, such as many mountain towns in Colorado.
Fortunately, each challenge brought a new milestone or lesson to strengthen the effectiveness of short-term rental alliances and communities. The Telluride alliance’s success in defeating an anti-STR ballot initiative and winning a pro-STR ballot initiative was one unprecedented example.
These challenges reiterated the importance of building community among members of the short-term rental industry and being good neighbors in the greater community. Short-term rental entrepreneurs, like Sexton Stays CEO Andreas King-Geovanis and At Ease CEO Anthony Gantt, Jr., also seized opportunities to help their communities in times of trouble and to find innovative solutions to everyday problems.
Before we close out the year, we reflect on the stories that resonated the most with our readers and staff. Here are our top 10:
Seven Hosting Lessons from Netflix’s “The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals”
“The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals” on Netflix epitomized the collective yearning to travel again after a year of restrictions on movement in 2020. Living vicariously through the show’s hosts Megan Batoon, Jo Franco, and Luis D. Ortiz also provided valuable insights on providing extraordinary guest experiences.
In Seven Hosting Lesson’s from Netflix’s “The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals,” Alexa Nota, our COO at Rent Responsibly, followed the hosts’ adventures from Massachusetts to Bali and distilled the best tips that short-term rentals hosts can leverage to design experiences that their guests will never forget.
Alexa’s Pick: Lessons or not, I loved studying this show for the pure joy of it, especially after Covid interrupted travel for everyone. The show reminds us all about the magic vacation rentals can create and why many of us started hosting in the first place. Believe it or not, I’d consider the inspiration and takeaways from this show a fun source of professional development for any operator.
Artful Leadership: How Fran Maier designed a fulfilling life and career through vacation rentals and advocacy
Fran Maier has a spectacular resume: She founded the wildly successful dating site, Match.com, and TrustArc, a privacy compliance tech company. Yet, this high-powered entrepreneur feels most at home in her art-bedecked vacation rentals. She loves short-term rentals so much that she became a leader in short-term rental advocacy in both San Francisco and Santa Fe, Mexico. Her passion led to her latest entrepreneurial venture, BabyQuip, a platform where travelers can rent strollers and other baby equipment. Read Fran’s short-term rental story here >
Lindsey’s Pick: I loved learning about Fran and her many adventures. As a native New Mexican myself, it was great to see the evolution of Santa Fe’s short-term rental market with Fran at the helm. It’s such a great reminder that we can change course at any time in our lives. She isn’t hesitating – and instead, is creating solutions for travelers both locally and nationally. I can’t wait to use BabyQuip on our next vacation. Such a helpful service for parents!
10 ways to respond to difficult guest questions in a friendly (but firm) way [+ templates!]
If you’re in the hospitality industry, you probably place a high value on being nice. Certain questions can make you feel like you’re on precarious ground in trying to maintain friendly but firm boundaries on what is and isn’t OK at your vacation rental. Believe it or not, having this script of sorts can help make you feel more grounded and prepared to face inevitably difficult interactions with your guests and leave you both feeling relatively good.
Public Comment 101: Effective Written and Spoken Testimonies
Public Comment 101 is about more than just public speaking. It’s about getting your points across to elected officials and communicating effectively and succinctly under sometimes extreme pressure and short time limits. This article provides a guide to adequately prepare for these situations, including building relationships with city staff and elected officials who make the big decisions.
Abbi’s Pick: This is one of my favorite resources we have put together at Rent Responsibly and one that I use and reference frequently when working with the alliances we support. With any public speaking, submitting public comment can be intimidating, but this article breaks it down into approachable steps and highlights what factors to consider to deliver the most effective public comment. Speaking with your local leaders is also a great way to build relationships and strengthen community, and I love that this resource encourages others to focus on that.
Short-term rental CEO who survived Sept. 11 hosts Surfside condo collapse families
The partial collapse of a 12-story oceanfront condo building in Surfside, Florida, in June killed 98 residents and horrified people around the globe, triggering traumatic memories of 9/11.
Sextant Stays CEO Andreas King-Geovanis, himself a survivor of 9/11, couldn’t sit back and do nothing. He rallied his team to prepare a vacant vacation rental building in record time so that he could host the condo survivors and family members for an entire month rent-free.
Jenna’s Pick: Reading about Andreas is inspiring. The way that he takes his personal experiences to create better outcomes for those who need help today is a rare quality to find in a person. Not only does he go the extra mile to help others, he exceeds all expectations while doing so. Rallying 165 staff members and successfully opening up 17 homes, 40 days early is a true testament to his character.
Peak Leadership: How Ricky Cortez models responsible vacation rental hosting in the Poconos
In a wave of backlash against short-term rentals in the Poconos, Ricky Cortez made it his mission to model responsible renting practices for critics and other short-term rental hosts. He advocated for fair regulations that don’t punish responsible hosts and facilitated dialogue and problem-solving between hosts and neighbors via a special website. He represents many leaders of short-term rental alliances who have made a difference in their communities.
Stronger Together: Telluride, Colorado, short-term rental alliance makes ballot history
It started out as a group of leaders in the hospitality industry trying to figure out how to reopen in the midst of Covid restrictions. It turned into an alliance that made short-term rental advocacy history. The short-term rental alliance in Telluride, Colorado, became the first to successfully place a pro-STR initiative on a ballot and win while simultaneously defeating an anti-STR initiative during the same election. This is their story.
Dana’s Pick: With the regulation reality many of us are facing, being creative and solution-focused is no longer an option; it’s imperative. The “big picture” and “community-first” approach the Telluride alliance (CAEHS) took to address the challenge of housing affordability is a model for alliances around the globe. There are so many lessons to be learned from Alline and her group, many of which were spawned by the pandemic.
Culture first, tech second: Doing multifamily short-term rentals the right way with Frontdesk
Frontdesk draws a lot of attention (and business) for its high-tech wizardry and stylish vacation rentals in highly desirable urban areas. But this company’s success rests on an old-fashioned value of being a good neighbor that is ingrained in its company culture. The company’s good neighbor philosophy provides a source of wisdom for others in the industry, and Frontdesk has not shied away from being an educational leader in that area. They illustrate how profit, success, and innovation go hand-in-hand with treating others right.
Bri’s Pick: Technology is such a game-changer when it comes to reasonable and fair STR regulations. It mitigates so many negative guest issues and neighbor complaints while setting hosts and managers apart from their competition. Responsible technology is where we are headed as an industry, so it’s refreshing to hear stories like Jesse’s. With amazing teams and killer tech, STR hosts and managers can’t lose!
What does a Portland cancer survivor’s treehouse have to do with short-term rental insurance? A lot
Get ready for an emotional rollercoaster. A child fights cancer and dreams of having a treehouse. The community manifests that treehouse into being. The treehouse later becomes a short-term rental to help the child’s family make ends meet, when, suddenly, the family faces a bed bug infestation with no money for an exterminator. What to do? This short-term rental story shows how a sense of community, a dose of determination, and refusing to take no for an answer can change everything.
Paris’s Pick: Besides my Portland bias (it’s my hometown), I fell for this story because of its many touching plot twists. The community twice intervenes to help a struggling family. Hardship becomes a catalyst for filling a need of short-term rental hosts and drives two determined women to never give up until they accomplish their mission. Throw in the itch factor of bed bugs, and you can’t put this story down.
On the Move: How Major Anthony Gantt Jr. puts military members at ease in short-term rentals
Major Anthony Gantt Jr. was not at ease when he found out the Defense Travel Management Office, which reimburses military members for their transitional accommodations, would not cover expenses for short-term rental lodging. As the father of six children, he recognized staying in hotels sometimes is far from ideal. He knew there were others in the military with the same dilemma. So he founded At Ease, a company that works with the Department of Defense to provide short-term rentals as approved accommodations to members of the military and federal employees.
Dave’s Pick: I love a story where “necessity becomes the mother of invention.” A friend of mine and fellow STR entrepreneur, Major Anthony Gantt, Jr., saw an opportunity to take on a challenge that was born of personal frustration: the inability for his family to utilize STRs when relocating as part of his military duties. It is inspiring to see Anthony and his team take on the challenges presented by the DoD processes, layers of red tape and bureaucracy. With Anthony’s leadership and At Ease’s success, countless service members and their families will benefit. It is stories of people who ask “why not?” – like Anthony did – that lead us all to a better way. Thank you for your service and your determination, Major Gantt!
•••
SUBSCRIBE TO GET UPDATES
